Comments on: What Books Would You Recommend to Someone Exploring Catholicism? CHNetwork Community Question

By: Danny Collier

Danny Collier — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 03:57:00 +0000

This spring and summer I read (and highly recommend) the following:

Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Karl Keating
A Defense of My Life, John Henry Newman
An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrines, John Henry Newman
The Catholic Church and Conversion, GKChesterton
CS Lewis & and the Catholic Church, Joseph Pearce
Rome Sweet Home, Scott & Kimberly Hahn
By What Authority? Mark Shea
The Four Witnesses, Mark Bennett
The Catechism of the Catholic Church

In September I was received into the Catholic Church. Enjoy and God bless your journey!

By: chnetwork

chnetwork — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 15:55:00 +0000

THanks for all the great suggestions!

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 19:06:00 +0000

In reply to C. Julien. I am pretty ancient. The only ones that existed at the time of my conversion were Keating's book and Radio Replies. Of course, St. Irenaeus as well, lol. I do love Currie's book as well.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 18 Jul 2017 17:43:00 +0000

In reply to Pat. Love the title! I will have to check it out...thanks!

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 22:52:00 +0000

I found Christian Smith’s book How to Go From Being a Good Evangelical to a Committed Catholic in Ninety-five Difficult Steps very helpful. Plus, it’s fun to read!

By: Andrea Gadomski-Riker

Andrea Gadomski-Riker — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 21:55:00 +0000

Although I have been Catholic for my entire life, I was not active in The Church for many, many years. Because I now live in a “senior” apartment building, I have had to learn how to explain our faith to some fairly hostile people. Two books that I started with are Marcus’ “The Journey Home” & “Reflections on the Journey Home.” The other book that helped me explain why we do what we do at Mass is Alfred McBride’s “A Short History of the Mass”. It’s written in plain, simple English. I’ve also gifted it to two friends who were in RCIA. They found it very interesting.

By: Trish

Trish — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:13:00 +0000

The very first book I read was Waking Up Catholic by Chad R. Torgerson which addressed a lot of issues. Someone suggested Scott Hahn and I started with Rome Sweet Home, then moved on to just every book he has written. Recently I read Why We’re Catholic by Trent Horn, which is very helpful.

By: rosearbor

rosearbor — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:10:00 +0000

Why Do Catholics Do That? by Kevin Orlin Johnson is wonderful, and I’ve recommended it to non-Catholic friends and loved ones. It is very readable, and in explaining the “why” of aspects of Catholicism that some outside the Church might find curious or baffling, the book opens the door to understanding — the first step in encouraging those whose “hearts are restless” (h/t St. Augustine 🙂 to explore the Catholic Faith more deeply. I was very grateful to have found this book during my journey, and always keep two copies on my bookshelf — in case someone comes along that I’d like to share it with!

By: Chris Moellering

Chris Moellering — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:07:00 +0000

There are so many….as others have noted, it depends on where the person is at. One that laid me open to receive was Christian Smith’s “The Bible Made Impossible” which really shows the frailty of protestant interpretation of Scripture. I would also suggest the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I found to be very readable, coherent, and what I had been longing for for so long on my journey.

By: IAmBrianBoru

IAmBrianBoru — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 17:04:00 +0000

Four Witnesses by your friend Rod Bennett would be one of my top suggestions, as well as the Surprised by Truth books from Patrick Madrid. Steve Ray’s Crossing the Tiber and Jeff Cavin’s I’m not being Fed would also be good recommendations.